FOOD THAT SUSTAINS US TODAY AND TO ETERNITY (A Reflection)

In today's readings, sowing and planting, cultivating and harvesting metaphorically explain the kernels of God's word and the conditions necessary for these seeds to grow.

Using a commonly understood experience, Isaiah uses the metaphor of agriculture to connect with the people of Israel. Jesus uses the thread of farming with which he weaves his parable. The crowd could relate to farming.

Thousands of years later, we can and we should relate to farming because, as the Catholic economist, E.F. Schumacher wrote, "Human life can continue without industry, whereas it cannot continue without agriculture." (Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered)

Though it seems as if society is trying to replace agriculture with industry.

Did you know? In 1940, 1 calorie of fossil fuel created 2.3 calories of food. (Calories are units of energy.)

"Agriculture is not just another economic sector. It is about food and hunger, the way we treat those who grow and harvest our food and fiber, and what kind of nation and world we are shaping." (USCCB: Pastoral Reflections on Food, Farmers, and Farmworkers)

Did you know? In 2017, American farmers received only 15.6 cents of every dollar Americans spent on processed, packaged, prepared food. More is spent on processing food.

Agriculture “touches all our lives, wherever we live or whatever we do. It is about how we feed our own families, and the whole human family. It is about what is happening to food [emphasis added] and farming, rural communities and villages, in the face of increasing concentration, new technology, and growing globalization in agriculture.” (USCCB)

Did you know? Fifty-five years ago, the average American household spent 17% of its income on food. Today it spends 10%. Food has become less expensive because the average American eats processed, packaged, prepared food and it is cheaper to manufacture food with lower nutritional value and higher calories.

"Food sustains life itself; it is not just another product." (USCCB)

Schumacher also wrote that agriculture should not be considered "industry" because agriculture deals with life and food.

And that is the word of God: food that sustains us for our journey to eternal life.